CHIP DESIGNER Nvidia has slashed the price of its Shield handheld games console ahead of its release on 27 June.
Clearly keen to compete with the Xbox One and Sony PS4, Nvidia announced on Thursday that its console is now $50 cheaper at $299 and that it will start shipping on 27 June.
Nvidia said, "We've heard from thousands of gamers that if the price was $299, we'd have a home run. So we're changing the price of Shield to $299."
Those who have already preordered Shield needn't be miffed, as Nvidia has said that buyers will be charged the new product price, rather than the previous $349 price.
"If you've already pre-ordered Shield, you'll be charged the new, lower price. You will only be charged $299 when the product ships," Nvidia said. "We want to get Shield into the hands of as many gamers as possible."
Nvidia unveiled Shield, then known as Project Shield, at this year's CES, touting that it will arrive powered by the firm's Tegra 4 processor and Google's Android Jelly Bean mobile operating system. The handheld device also features a 5in "Retinal" HD screen that the firm claims gives the iPhone 5 a run for its money.
Users will be able to pick up game titles from Google Play or Nvidia'sTegrazone app store, and the console is also capable of streaming games from any PC that is fitted with a Geforce GTX GPU.
While Nvidia announced US availability details today, it's still unclear whether and when Shield will be released in the UK. We've asked Nvidia for further information. µ
